Louis Dreyfus Company is building what it calls the world’s largest plant for producing biogas from citrus effluent. The facility sits at the company’s industrial site in Bebedouro, São Paulo state, Brazil.
The project takes an unusual approach to one of the orange juice industry’s biggest waste streams. It turns citrus wastewater into renewable, bio-based energy. The plant covers about 195,000 square metres. It’s designed to process roughly 400 cubic metres of citrus effluent every hour.
From that wastewater, the facility is expected to generate more than 50,000 normal cubic metres of biogas daily. That’s equivalent to over 1.77 million cubic feet. The renewable gas will supply the company’s industrial operations, replacing fossil fuels and helping cut carbon dioxide emissions.
The process relies on biotechnology designed to break down organic material in citrus effluent. LDC developed the system using a specialised bioinoculum capable of decomposing the wastewater’s organic load while generating biogas as a by-product. The technology emerged from a pilot project involving specialists from Latin America.
According to the company, replacing fossil fuels with this biogas is expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions at the Bebedouro plant by more than 20%.
Energy generation is only part of the project’s environmental strategy. Paulo Hladchuk, global head of the company’s Juice Platform, said the biomanufacturing design aims to maximise environmental benefits while strengthening the company’s long-term ties to Brazil’s citrus sector.
The Bebedouro plant’s significance extends beyond its daily biogas output. It demonstrates how industrial facilities can combine waste treatment and renewable energy production within the same operation. LDC’s Brazilian citrus business includes more than 30,000 hectares of groves and three juice processing facilities. If the technology performs as expected at full scale, it could offer a model for other food-processing industries handling high volumes of organic wastewater.
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